Bells Are Ringing, Everyone Is Singing
by doublequartereighthnote
Summary: Mabel and Dipper come back to Gravity Falls for winter break, ready to celebrate with their new friends and family. But with Mabel's over decorating, there are way too many bells for Pacifica. Drabble. Mentions of abuse.


Mabel stitched the last stitch on her sweater and let out a relieved sigh. Her last present was finished. Now, all she needed to do is wrap them all.

"Dipper's, Grunkle Stan's, Grunkle Ford's, Candy's, Gretchen's, Wendy's, Soos', aaaand Pacifica's." Mabel muttered to herself as she folded wrapping paper over each one, taping, and tying a bow all around them. She gathered them up and plopped them down under the tree in the living room.

"Mabel, you do remember we're Jewish, right?" Dipper asked. "You really don't have to decorate the shack for christmas." Dipper's eyes scanned the walls that were covered in stockings and bows and ornaments. Wrapping paper even doned some patches of the wall.

Mabel laughs and pats her brother on the head. "Dipper! It's our Chris-Hanukkah-mas party! We're smashing them together so we _need_ as much christmas as possible! We've done Channuka already!" Mabel's mood deflated into a serious tone. "This is our first christmas… And our first holiday with _all_ of our family… I just… Want it to be special."

Dipper smiled at his sister and wrapped one arm around her. "This'll be the best Chris-Hanukkah-mas Gravity Falls will ever see." Mabel grinned from ear to ear and squeezed Dipper around the neck.

"You're the best, Dipper!" Mabel ran and grabbed a box from the corner that jingled as she moved it. "Now help me hang these jingle bells from the ceiling."

The twins put the finishing touches on the living room and admired their work. Soon, the door was revolving. Wendy came in with a bag full of presents and candy. Soos had his abuelita on his arm. Candy and Gretchen came as a pair, holding ginger milk and potroast.

The grunkles came up the stairs fighting, until Dipper and Mabel ambushed them, shoving santa hats with stars of david sewed on, onto the their heads and candy canes into their hands. Ford looked at his hat in the hall mirror. "Aren't we Jewish?" He asked. "Did we convert while I was gone?"

Mabel stood by the door, bouncing and jingling, waiting for their last guest. "She gonna come, right? She tolds us she would come. Do you think she'd lie to us?"

"No, I'm sure she's on her way. It _is_ snowing outside." Dipper said, patting her on the back, making her jingle again. "Maybe, go get some eggnog? That'll cheer you up."

"The eggnog is for adults only!" Grunkle Stan called from the kitchen.

"Okay, maybe no eggnog. But that ginger milk looked good, why don't you get some of that?" Dipper said.

Mabel gave him a small smile and went to gets some ginger milk. Dipper watched the door, then. He actually had no idea if Pacifica would show. He hoped she did. The last time he was able to just hang out with Pacifica he saw that she wasn't just her money. She was a fun, down to earth person.

There was a knock on the door. A wave of relief flooded over him. He opened the door to see a red and green clad Pacifica.

"Hey Pacifica." Dipper said.

"Hey Pines." Pacifica said, walking into the mystery shack. "It's very… festive."

"Heh, yeah. Mabel wanted our first christmas would be a special one."

"PACIFICA!" Mabel called, running, and jingling, at Pacifica.

The bells rang in Pacifica's ears, fear and pain strike her chest. She froze in her place and looked at the ground.

"Pa...Pacifica?" Mabel asked, reaching for her, arms jingling.

Pacifica whinned, flinching away from Mabel's arm.

"Pacifica whats wrong?" Mabel asked, taking a step towards her.

"Mabel, I don't think-"

Pacifica scoots away again, bumping into Dipper. "I'm sorry!" She shrieked, eyes darting across the room for an escape. Her eyes caught the hallway to the left and bolted, disappearing into the dark.

"What was that?" Mabel asked, looking down the hallway. "I thought… I thought she liked me…"

"Mabel…" Dipper said. "Pacifica… Is afraid of bells. Terrified actually."

"But why? Bells are so happy and full of christmas cheer. They're like eggnog for your ears!"

Dipper couldn't look his sister in the eye. He rubbed his arm through his sweat shirt. "I don't know any details... But I think… When she was younger… Her parents would ring the bell and hit her when she did something wrong… So now… When she hears the bells she knows to stop whatever she doing…"

When Dipper looked up he saw tears rolling down his sister's eyes. "Mabel-" Her expression slowly became angry as she ripped off her sweater and threw it at a box. She got on couches and chairs to tear down anything and everything with bells on it or in it. She stuffed them all into the box and threw it into Grunkle Ford's room.

"Mabel, why'd you take down, like, half the decorations?" Wendy asked, distracted from her game of candyland by all the ripping and ringing.

Mabel stopped in a power pose. "Thats none of your concern, Wendy. Just go back to having fun." She said. Wendy raised and eyebrow, then smiled and went back to playing with Candy and Gretchen.

Mabel quickly slipped on her dreidel sweater and trotted back to Dipper. She was smiling again but the look on her face was one of understand and love. "Lets go get our friend." Dipper nodded in agreement, taking an electric candle from the wall and walking down the dark hallway with Mabel to find Pacifica.

They looked in all the rooms until the came across her under the table at the end of the hall. She was shaking, her head tucked into her arms. She breathed slowly, trying to slow her own heart and settle her own nerves. Something shes had to do alone for a very long time.

"Pacifica," Mabel said, her voice soft and careful. Pacifica whined and curled herself into a tighter ball. "Pacifica I'm sorry about the bells. I didn't know." Mabel picked at her fingers, flicking them against her palm. She sat down next to Pacifica, tucking her knees under her chin too. "If I knew I wouldn't have put them all up…"

Dipper joined them, sitting on the other side of Pacifica, placing the candle in from of his feet. They sat in silence, Dipper watching the light flicker, Pacifica tightening her grip on her knees, and Mabel watching her.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Pacifica," Mabel said. Her grip loosened, Mabel noticed. "You nothing wrong. You're a good person. No one's going to hurt you… I'm...putting my hand on your shoulder now, okay?" Mabel's arm slipped around Pacifica, pulling herself closer to her. She squeezed lightly, letting her know shes safe. Mabel felt Pacifica's muscles relax, her legs unfolded, and she rested her head on Mabel's shoulder.

"You know they keep the bells up in my house," Pacifica said. Dipper and Mabel shared at look. _What awful parents,_ they thought. "During the holidays they actually use the jingle bells…"

Dipper's arm wrapped around Pacifica's shoulders. "Well you don't need to worry about that anymore. They're all gone. Mabel tore them all down."

Pacifica looked up at Mabel, her brow knit together. "You did that? ...For me?" Mabel gave her a sideways smile and nodded.

"Theres not a bell out there to hurt you."

Pacifica started to cry again, despite the huge smile on her face.

Mabel gasped. "What did we do?! Why are you crying again?!"

Pacifica started laughing through her sobs and pulled the twins closer, so they were almost butting heads. "No one's ever done something so nice for me before. Thank you. Thank you so much."

Mabel grinned and hugged Pacifica back as Dipper became uncomfortable. "U-Uh guys, shouldn't we head back to the party? Everyone's probably waiting for us."

The three detached from one another and all crawled out from under the table. The twins walked Pacifica to the party where she was greeted with smiles, cheers, and no bells. They all sat around the tree and told stories of their past christmases or channukas.

Stan talked about the holidays during those years alone. Wendy told a story about her family chopping down a tree for every member. Gretchen said her family got a new ornament every year to represent the year that passed. Candy admitted that this was her first christmas as well. Ford said he tried to keep track of time but it was impossible.

"Okay, okay, sooo once Channuka Dipper wanted to light the candles-" Mabel started

Dipper groaned. "Mabel! Don't tell that one! It's embarrassing!"

"But he never did it before because he was always afraid of the fire-"

"Fire is dangerous!"

"So when Dad lit the match and give it to him he was so nervous he just stared at it until it reached his fingers! then he threw it and it landed in aunt millie's hair! Her hair was so stiff from hair spray it lit in a second! She looked like the heat miser!"

The group erupted in laughter, especially from Stan. "Ha! Serves her right! I never like that woman."

When they quieted down they all looked to Pacifica who had been sitting quietly next to Mabel. "W-What? Me? I don't have a story! They're all boring…"

"Come on! I'm sure they're great!"

Pacifica bit her lip and watched her fingers tangle together. "Okay… Well… There was this one Christmas where all the power went out and at first it was really scary 'cause I was all alone because mom and dad had gone to the dominican republic. So I was wandering the halls when I saw something falling from the sky. It looked like a shooting star… And it was gorgeous. Then there were a bunch more and I found out later it was a meteor shower. But at the time I thought all the stars were falling for me so I wouldn't be alone that christmas." Pacifica looked up from her hands and saw everyone smiling at her.

"That was a sweet story, P." Wendy said and everyone agreed.

"And I think now is a good time to open presents!" Mabel said, scooping up all her presents and delivering them to their rightful recipients.

"Ah, Mabel, this is so cool! We all get our own Mabel sweater!" Wendy said, admiring hers that dawned a bag of ice on it. "But whats with the bag?"

Mabel giggled. "It because you're so COOL!" Mabel announced.

"I sweater with a turkey leg on it!" Gretchen called. "You know me so well, girl!"

"Why does mine of a Llama on it?" Pacifica asked, holding it up to the light.

Mabel shrugged. "Llamas are the strongest warriors. And you're pretty strong, Pacifica."

Pacifica jumped it her feet and wrapped her arms around Mabel, concealing her in a tight hug. "Thank you, Mabel." Pacifica felt her hug back.

"Of course."


End file.
